The next mont, Mok Jong-hwa was nowhere to be found.
They’d been ruled combat-incapacitated and ejected outside the arena.
Soon, the scoreboard displayed the match results.
[Kim Ho Win]
[Song Cheon-hye Win]
[Jeong Jin-myeong Win]
vs
[Mok Jong-hwa Lose]
Jeong Jin-myeong let out an admiring sound.
“We took down a 3rd-year. And a club-president level, at that.”
Then they looked this way and flashed a grin.
“Seriously, nice work. You carried .”
“It wasn’t a carry. That was skill. You pulled your weight.”
I grinned back as I answered.
Even if I generously called it a “carry,” only soone prepared can ride that bus.
If Jeong Jin-myeong’s specs hadn’t t the baseline, dumping firepower all day wouldn’t have dealt any aningful damage.
And if they’d gotten shaken up by the golems’ harassnt, they would’ve missed a lot of the openings that ca and went.
They trusted the team completely and focused only on their own role—so we got a result like this.
We walked out of the arena in that warm, satisfied mood—and Mok Jong-hwa was waiting.
They stared straight at and spoke first.
“Good match. I lost, but sohow I feel refreshed.”
“I learned a lot, senior.”
“I wish you victory going forward.”
That was all. Mok Jong-hwa turned and left.
They’d cleared out the resentnt in their heart, sure—but it wasn’t like I suddenly liked them. They probably didn’t want a long conversation either.
Still, if we et again soday, we’ll be able to look at each other with a smile.
[Side Quest: Week 16 PvP Match](In Progress....)
▷3rd-Year Matching Fixed
▷Skill Disabled:Imbue
▷Objective 1: Win with HP at 80% or higher(1/2 tis)
▷Objective 2: Total damage dealt accumulates to 60% or higher(38/60%)
▷Reward: Distributed by completion rate
Looks like the combat-incapacitated ruling dropped when Mok Jong-hwa’s HP got shaved down to 62%.
Thanks to that, the next match would be relatively relaxed.
Depending on the bracket luck, anyway.
I closed the quest window, then spoke to Song Cheon-hye, who was lingering nearby.
“You did good too.”
“Where are you going?”
“Nowhere, really. Just killing ti. My cooldowns are ticking.”
I’d used [Amplification], and I’d used Clear Mirror Calm Water ten tis in a row.
Song Cheon-hye glanced toward the stage.
“Perfect timing, then. I was going to rest and go in too.”
“You don’t look like you’ve got anything on cooldown.”
“......I do, okay? I used stuff.”
“Is that so.”
I decided not to pry.
Song Cheon-hye gave a light fake cough and made a suggestion.
“Let’s grab coffee.”
“You an the snack shop?”
“It’s better than standing around like this.”
“That’s true.”
I readily followed Song Cheon-hye to the snack shop, and we bought a cup of coffee each and talked.
“You’ve gotten way better in close combat.”
“That’s because you taught well.”
Song Cheon-hye answered with a proud face.
They’d traded blows with Mok Jong-hwa all match long, and still didn’t take major damage from counters or the golems’ harassnt.
It proved their skills worked even on a 3rd-year.
“We can start phasing out the squeaky hamr and move on to the next thing.”
“Really!?”
Song Cheon-hye lit up, delighted.
Seems doing the sa training over and over had been secretly getting boring.
“Still, it’s better to be sure. Let’s watch one more match, then decide.”
“Sounds good.”
Like it was already a done deal, Song Cheon-hye answered confidently.
Then they asked ,
“If I pass, what do I learn next?”
“Control.”
Their body was moving decently now, so the plan was to raise their overall magic proficiency.
Anticipation swelled in Song Cheon-hye’s face.
“Then...... ★Blink★ too......?”
But my answer was sharp and absolute.
“That’s a long way off.”
“.......”
“You just learned to walk and you want to start doing aerial flips? There’s an order to things.”
“......I know that.”
Despite the words, Song Cheon-hye looked a little sulky.
They stared off sowhere else, then side-eyed and asked again.
“But soday, we’re going all the way to ★Blink★, right?”
“Soday—if you work hard.”
“I’m obviously going to work hard.”
Song Cheon-hye’s motivation flared.
They’d taken a beating with that squeaky hamr and still pushed through—so of course they would.
Then, like sothing occurred to them, they hesitated.
“But...... break’s coming up soon.”
“Yeah. Break.”
“Then training......?”
“We’ll continue next year.”
Song Cheon-hye asked, sounding regretful.
“Where are you going?”
“Back to the main house with my sister.”
“Dang Gyu-young, senior?”
“Yeah.”
“.......”
Song Cheon-hye’s disappointnt deepened.
They looked like they wanted to follow, but Dang Gyu-young and they were more like ntor and ntee—upperclassman and underclassman who knew each other.
They probably knew it would be awkward to tag along all the way to the main house.
So they forced themselves to act like it didn’t matter.
“......I’m [N O V E L I G H T] busy too, okay? The whole winter break.”
“Yeah? Doing what?”
“I’m going to learn magic from my grandfather.”
“Right. Your [Core] is A-rank, so learning higher-tier Skills would be good. What else?”
“I’m helping with Magic Tower stuff, and also, also...... anyway, I’m busy. I won’t have ti to see anyone.”
“Even Han So-mi?”
They were one of the few friends they had—seems like they’d et at least once over break.
Song Cheon-hye’s face flickered with loneliness.
“So-mi says she’s going to see the Sword Empress.”
“Still at the frontline, was it?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
The frontline fortress.
The place where, around the ti the Fix Zone tournant ended, dragons had swept through and breathed all over it.
The appearances had beco less frequent compared to before, but as a frontline, the fighting never really stopped.
‘While we’re at it, should I send Go Hyeon-woo along too?’
Get taught by the Sword Empress, build real combat experience, and pick up any Hidden Pieces around the area in the gaps—three birds with one stone.
Of course, the Sword Empress would hate it, but Han So-mi would be thrilled.
I’d have to bring it up later.
“.......”
anwhile, Song Cheon-hye’s complexion had been getting darker and darker ever since Han So-mi ca up.
So I asked.
“What happened with you two.”
“......Nothing happened.”
“Looks like sothing happened. Talk.”
Song Cheon-hye stayed silent for a long ti, then finally opened their mouth with a sigh.
“......So-mi says she’s quitting the disciplinary committee club.”
“Yeah?”
I’d heard it directly from her back during the promotion exam and even counseled her about it, but the best move now was to pretend I didn’t know.
“Yeah. She said she doesn’t have enough ti to train...... the other mbers and I tried to stop her, but she won’t listen.”
“Sounds like she made up her mind.”
“I guess so.”
Back then it was like 70%, but now it looked close to 100%.
Song Cheon-hye sighed again.
“It can’t be helped. I have to let her go.”
“Good call. If you force soone to stay, all you do is ruin the relationship.”
“It’s just... I’m going to miss her. I don’t have that many mbers I’m close with.”
“Then you should quit too.”
I tossed it out jokingly. The corner of Song Cheon-hye’s mouth twitched.
But they shook their head.
“I’m not planning to do it all three years either, but I’m going to stay for now. One sester, or a year.”
“Why?”
“There’s still sothing I want to do.”
“What is it? Don’t leave hanging.”
But Song Cheon-hye turned their head with a prim tone.
“It’s a secret. That’s what you always say.”
“Wow. I walked right into that one.”
“Do you get how I feel now?”
“A little.”
“I’ll tell you later.”
Song Cheon-hye took a happy sip of coffee.
*****
Around the ti the cooldowns were about to end, we returned to the arena.
As Song Cheon-hye tapped their student ID at the terminal, they repeated their reminder.
“Watch the replay. Seriously. Watch it.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“No—watch it with later. I’ll bring it.”
“Sure.”
But not long after, we realized we didn’t need to watch any replay.
[Go Hyeon-woo]
[Kim Ho]
[Song Cheon-hye]
We got matched onto the sa team again.
Song Cheon-hye looked a little awkward.
“......Let’s go in.”
We stepped into the Circular Arena one by one.
Go Hyeon-woo, who’d entered first, greeted us with a smile.
“Kim. Ms. Song.”
“How’d it go with Namgung Changcheon?”
“It was an experience of great value. Thanks to it, my eyes have been opened.”
The gap in skill was enormous—there was no way they’d won.
And there was no way they’d had real synergy with Cha Hyeon-ju. Even if they did, they’d still have lost.
Still, true to the “positive boss” reputation, Go Hyeon-woo seed to value the experience more than the outco.
Go Hyeon-woo stared at the other side and continued.
“I sincerely hope I can learn much from this match as well.”
“You will. This opponent isn’t normal.”
At the end of our gaze, a man stood there like an iron tower.
[Kim Gap-doo]
“Even from afar, I can feel the aura. It resembles Jo Byeok.”
“Compared to that person, Jo Byeok is nothing.”
“......You an to say they are that overwhelming?”
“Yeah. That person is a true warrior and a true hero—a man among n, a big shot of Dragon Slayer Academy.”
“Hoh... It is rare indeed to see you praise soone so highly.”
“Your season pass ca from him too.”
“That...!”
Go Hyeon-woo’s eyes filled with admiration and reverence.
Kim Gap-doo looked a little uncomfortable, maybe because so random guy was staring at him with eyes that hot.
But soon, he faced seriously and spoke.
“Do you rember? What I said before.”
“Of course I rember.”
It was probably what he’d said back then, when he handed that mass-produced elixir.
—Get stronger. So neither Dang Gyu-young nor you get hurt when facing a Blood Cult elder.
He asked again.
“Have you grown stronger?”
“I still have a long way to go.”
“.......”
“But I’m confident I won’t lose things pointlessly anymore.”
“......Good. Show .”
A smile hung at the corner of Kim Gap-doo’s mouth.
He clenched both fists and drew up his montum.
He clenched both fists and drew up his montum.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
And the instant the match began, he kicked off the ground.
Kim Gap-doo’s figure shot toward us at a terrifying speed.
*****
Another Circular Arena.
Lee Seul-bi, a 1st-year disciplinary committee club mber, was chanting magic with every nerve in their body stretched tight.
A sapphire glowed blue, and a wave surged forward.
— WOOOOOSH—!
It held a powerful force that could shove away any enemy—
But this ti was an exception.
A pitch-black giant mass pushed forward through the wave, ramming in with its entire body.
Pressure like a truck charging straight at you.
At this rate, Lee Seul-bi would get smashed and sent flying, so they hurriedly spat out another spell.
A small wave ford under their feet, and they rode it to open distance.
But then—
— SWISH—!
A pitch-black figure shot in at terrifying speed from who-knew-where.
With an equally pitch-black dagger thrust out in front.
“!!”
Lee Seul-bi twisted away desperately, and the dagger only barely grazed past the shoulder area.
They exhaled in relief and tried to calm their pounding chest.
‘D-dodged—’
— THUD!
A dull impact slamd into the back of their head.
Lee Seul-bi’s pupils unfocused as their body flopped sideways—
— PLOP.
—and vanished outside the arena.
[Bukgung Hansol -%]
[Lee Seul-bi -%]
“Sent another one out.”
Dang Gyu-young swept their eyes over the scoreboard and rested a shadow club on their shoulder.
The shadow stretched long to either side, then bulged and surged upward.
One took the form of a hulking researcher.
The other took the form of an assassin in martial garb.
They were Kkyurim Shadow Undead: the Laboratory Director and the Shadow Corps commander.
Dang Gyu-young flashed a grin at the opponent.
“Now it’s one-on-one, yeah?”
[Bukgung Hansol -%]
[Lee Seul-bi -%]
[Seo Ye-in 96%]
vs
[Dang Gyu-young 100%]
“.......”
Seo Ye-in quietly reached out and grabbed the pot.
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